My Life as an Anti-Nazi
Some people who have been actively
fighting fascism explain their reasons for being involved.

Alison
"I'm Alison Thorne, a feminist, a unionist, and a member
of the Freedom Socialist Party who helped found Campaign Against the Nazis.
Ridding the world of nazism means mobilizing all victims of fascist violence.
Building a movement to stop National Action requires a democratic united
front representing the diversity of the working class - immigrants, queers,
Kooris, Jews, people with disabilities, unionists, students, unemployed
and unorganized workers. But nazi violence and bigotry are born in the
misery of uncertainty that capitalism brings us all. Stopping fascism permanently
requires replacing a society based on inequality and stolen wealth with
a socialist democracy."

A Local
"I live in North Coburg, not far from the National
Action bunker in Fawkner. Every time I think of their little hate shop,
I get angry.
My reasons for wanting to get rid of the nazis, whether in my neighbourhood,
or elsewhere, are many. My father was left in a gutter with his genitals
mutilated during the nazi invasion of Vienna. Luckily, he recovered, and
was able to emigrate to Australia.
As an anarchist I have a responsibility to continue the work of thousands
of anarchists who died fighting Franco during the Spanish revolution and
in other countries of Europe at the time. Anarchists were opposing the
rise of fascism, whether by attempts on the lives of Hitler and Mussolini
or by organizing with their neighbours and fellow workers. In Cologne,
Germany only months before Hitler took power, Dr Geobbels was chased out
of town by a large demonstration, which led to many more.
In recent times, Anti Fascist Action in the UK has used direct action to
stop the nazis from having meetings and chased them off the streets on
many occasions. Nottingham, during the 80s is a good example. In contrast
to the left, which prefers to being "seen to oppose" nazis (in
this case by leafletting the centre of town), Anti Fascist Action found
out where the nazis were rallying and occupied the hall and surrounds,
so that when the fascists turned up a fight developed and the nazis had
to get out of the area fast.
Defeats such as these can lead to a loss of confidence among the nazis
as we saw in 1994 in Brunswick. After National Action attempted a rally
and were pelted with eggs, horse shit and abuse by the large crowd on Sydney
Road, they were noticeably absent from the area.
Now we are faced with a longer term fight. We have to make their bunker
unworkable. As long as they are there we have to leaflet, rally and make
life a misery for the few nazis who haven't fallen out with each other
yet, and who wait in nasty isolation for a visit from their leader. We
can do it!"

Jeda
"Neo-nazis and Pauline Hanson must be stopped.
We can't ignore them.
They spread vile propaganda aimed at dividing the community.
They are the racist tools of pastoralists and large corporations.
They proliferate in times of economic uncertainty
attacking the working class and the unemployed.
Immediately ...
We must build support for a permanent campaign to force the
Government to ...
Educate the nation by a massive media campaign. Introduce "Human Rights"
as a core subject in all schools.
Nazis, like cancer cells, do not magically disappear.
We must remove their destructive ideology from our society.
Close down the nazi bookshop."

Jedda from Militant

Pier
"Having lived in three different countries and experienced
racism first hand, I know how it feels to be an outsider. Thus, my internationalist
beliefs are not just a political stance but feelings that are part of me.
I regard everyone as equal, regardless of the colour of the flag we were
born under, as we are all human beings.
Hence, I oppose, by all means necessary, any group that seeks to divide
us and throw us back to an era of ignorance and hate that will bring misery
to the great majority of working people."

Piergiorgio Moro
Member of Australia Asia Worker Links.

Riki
"I am an anti-fascist activist 'cos I see National
Action as both a physical and a political danger. Queer people know a lot
about harassment - homophobic thugs regularly hang around the fringes of
gay venues and events looking for someone to bash.
All prejudice comes from the same source - racist gays, homophobic Asians,
sexist male unionists - have huge contradictions to confront. We need to
unite all the oppressed and the organized working class to fight discrimination
and capitalist exploitation.
Stopping National Action is at the cutting edge of this. They want to be
stormtroopers in Pauline Hanson's "broad church" of the hard
right. Stopping National Action recruiting and exposing them as nazis is
crucial to undermining Hanson and her ilk and to building a society free
of bigotry and hatred."

Riki Revolutskaya

Sean
"I have two motives for wanting to fight National Action,
the political and the personal. Whenever National Action and other racist
groups call for a white Australia they are attacking MY FRIENDS. I won't
wear that from anybody. What groups like National Action and One Nation
are saying is that MY FRIENDS are unacceptable, not for their personalities
but simply because of their skin colour. That is obnoxious.
The other reason is political. National Action and similar groups interfere
with people's democratic rights by using intimidation and violence against
minorities. The only way we can defend people's democratic rights is by
consistently showing National Action, migrant groups and the general public
that we will not be intimidated into allowing them to take our rights away.
Of course such a stance is not just in relation to National Action, it
is relevant to so many areas of struggle."

Stephanie
"I'm Stephanie Saunders, a Jewish lesbian and member
of Radical Women. One of my earliest memories is of bombs dropping close
enough to blow the windows in and the doors out.
I was taught then that fascism meant anti-Semitism. But nazis don't only
attack Jews. They terrorise anybody who doesn't fit their twisted stereotypes.
As a tool of big business, they resort to genocidal racism, sexism and
anti-gay bigotry to keep the working class divided. They must be stopped!
Radical Women and Campaign Against the Nazis are here to do just that."